By Michael Scott
The Dutch Central Bank accuses the US-based crypto exchange Coinbase of aiding the buying and selling of crypto assets without acquiring legal permission. Coinbase will settle a fine of $3.6M to the Dutch regulators.
Coinbase Violates Dutch Crypto Regulation
The attempt to protect the investors has pushed the Dutch regulators to develop stringent regulations on crypto assets. According to the Dutch Anti-money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act of 2008, virtual asset providers must register with the regulators before engaging in any crypto activity.
On January 26, the Dutch Central Bank De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB ) updated its website, disclosing that the crypto exchange pursued the Netherlands markets on November 22. Subsequently, the firm has been operational for more than two years without complying with the Dutch registration law. Coinbase’s non-compliance was discovered on August 24 last year, influencing the regulators to make moves.
Coinbase Faces Dutch Central Bank Regulators
In addition, the regulators fined the crypto exchange $3.6M. It was disclosed that the initial base fine amounted to $2M but depending on the complexity of the Coinbase case, the regulators considered increasing the fine to $3.6M.
The regulators’ regretted that Coinbase had accrued more benefits from the Netherlands crypto space. Such advantages comprised the number of Coinbase customers in the Netherlands and the firm’s size considering its market capitalization.
The regulators argued that Coinbase’s non-compliance positioned the firm at a competitive edge compared to the competitors entitled to supervisory charges.
Coinbase Denies the Charges
Following this, the report by the Dutch Central Bank confirms that Coinbase is given up to March 2 to oppose the imposed administrative penalties.
The crypto exchange has denied the claims and will follow the court process to oppose the regulators’ decision.
Elsewhere, a Coinbase spokesperson revealed that the firm acquired its registration on September 22 last year. The spokesman decries that the firm should not be penalized since Coinbase was in the process of obtaining the registration.
Per the spokesman report, the firm will continue to provide crypto products to their existing and new customers in Dutch. Also, the spokesman reaffirmed that Coinbase is a compliant firm that offers trusted and secure services.
Besides Coinbase, the leading crypto exchange Binance was charged $3.6M by the Dutch regulator for non-compliance last July.
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